Can anyone please give me some help here?

[jrd33]

Ok, here goes...

I'm 20 years old
(male)

a while back i noticed, what i thought was, blood on the toilet paper.

i went in to the doctor and had a fecal occult blood test to take home which i just now submitted (oops)

since that time, i have realized that what i thought was blood may have actually been just undigested parts of tomatoes. it seems whenever i eat tomatoes i dont digest parts of them, mainly the skins, but not only the skins.

Ok, now heres where my concern grows...

I have been starting to have strange bowel movements. Let me describe my situation for the past few weeks.

stool starts off somewhat normal, sometimes seemingly like a bunch of hard pieces or pebbles, combined into one bigger one. Though sometimes it just seems like a normal stool.

however, the stool soon becomes thinner and softer by the end. Sometimes the stool just comes out about the width of my thumb (thin).

sometimes by the end of my 'session' it becomes hard to finish. usually anything after that is mostly diarehha and thin, small, pieces of stool.

one last thing, I've recently been noticing mucus with the stool and the mucus has obvious red (blood?) in it.

im going crazy here...

i just called a nurse today and her and my doctor dont seem to worry about it... then again, i worry about my health all the time, i always think i have cancer somewhere ;p

Any info? Opinions? Does this sound familiar at all?

...help?

Thanks.

[katey]

CAN I TELL YOU HOW MUCH I UNDERSTAND????  OH MY GOD!!!!  That is so weird.  Reading what you wrote was just like reading something i've written over the past couple of days.  I ALWAYS think i have cancer as well, and i have the EXACT same symptoms as you do.   I really have had blood in my stool for the past month though, but its been mucusy.  Just read all the other postings i had put up if you're in doubt of anything i'm saying to you here.  The chances of you having colon cancer are almost nothing.  There is a 99.999999999999999% chance that you do not have cancer.  Someone between the ages of 30-40 has about a 3 in 1000,000 chance of getting it.  Do you even have a family history of it?  If not, that just ads another .9 on the 99.99999% chance of you having it.  Your bowels are probably inflamed from something.  You could be eating something you've developed an alergy (allergy) to.  The most serious thing someone your age would be diagnosed with is ulcerative colitis, and the symptoms of that are bloody stool/diareah, stomach pains, feeling like you haven't quite emptied your bowels when you have, etc. Thats what i'm getting checked for.  I get to have to have an anal probe, horray.  Its just a colonoscopy.  They sedate you, and then they stick this lighted slender tube up your rear. :-D
Its funny, as i'm saying this to you i'm still obsessing about having cancer myself, but i'm just telling you what everyone's telling me.  It takes YEARS for cancer to develop.  It would probably start with a polyp, and you don't even really start getting those until you're in your 20's.  Then, once you get a polyp, it can take another 5-10 years to actually become cancer.  You're too young, don't even think about that like i have been.  I've been obsessing about having cancer for the past couple weeks to the point of I've been on anti-anxiety medication and only eating a piece of toast once a day if that.  I have obsessive compulsive disorder, thats why i constantly believe i'm sick with some sort of disease.  If you constantly REALLY truely believe that you are sick all the time, maybe you should consider talking to someone about it.  It doesn't mean that you have obsessive compulsive disorder, but people that are generally very anxious sometimes tend to mask what thier really feeling anxious about by performing certain rituals, anxiety attacks, or in my case, constantly dwelling on being ill.  No matter how many doctors i see that reassure me i'm ok, when i leave the office, about 2 hours later i'm convinced i'm dying again.  
    Anyway, sorry to ramble on.  If you are feeling really anxious, you can e-mail me at katie_c_18***@****.  Trust me, i know how it feels to obsess about having cancer among other things, so if you need someone to give you constant reassurance that you're ok i'd be glad to!!  just go to your doctor and don't panic.  Hard, round stools can indicate constipation, and those thin stools can be caused my straining, inflamation (inflammation) inside your rectum, or simply trying to push something out thats just not ready to come out if ya know what i mean.  My dad says you should thing god for those little ones :-D.  K, anyways, i'll shut up now.  I'm not a doctor, i'm just telling ya what i've been told. Ulcerative colitis is the worst possible thing thier going to be looking for in someone your age.  If you've been on any antibiotics for anything in the past couple of months that can cause colitis as well.  As a matter of fact, i'm going to the doctors today to possibly get some results back, and i'll let you know what happened.  Relax and e-mail me if you need any reassurance!!!
katie

[jrd33]

  Hey, thanks a lot Katie.  8)

  I'm sure I will end up emailing you sometime, thanks for the help.

  The thing is - I don't really have any abdomen pain or anything. The only (slight) pain I've really noticed, seems to be right below my ribs (right side).  (heh, another thing to worry abuot?)


  Again, thanks for the reply. If anyone else has something to add, it would be appreciated.  


(kaite - im beggining to think I have some sort of hypochondria or obsessive compulsive behavior myself, I always think I have some sort of cancer... argh!! I hate it!!! Sometimes I wish I could just go get a complete body scan (CAT scan?) to check for tumors all over my body, hehe!)


Thanks

~ Jeff

[katey]

Hey jeff,

    Like i said before, lol, i totally understand.  I don't get headaches, i get brain tumors.  I know what its like to obsess.  The pain on your right side probably has to do with the inflamation (inflammation).  Your colon goes all the way around your stomach, and then i think your small intestine is kind of bunched up in the middle like a coiled snake or something.  If you're having mucus and blood thats all a sign of inflamation (inflammation), and if you're having that pain, that could just be where you are inflamed. I don't really have any pain either, except when i lay down i feel pressure on my left side.  I think i pay too much attention to symptoms.  CANCER NO, INFLAMATION (inflammation) OR GASTROINTESTINAL INFECTION YES.  When your colon gets inflamed you can develop ulcers along it, hence the blood mucus, and uncomfortable feeling in your right side :-D.
    The OCD is definately worth looking into.  There's a lot of treatments out there.  I know that doesn't sound very reassuring coming from someone as obsessive as myself, but i'm a LOT better then i used to be.  There's a lot of self tests on the next, just type obsessive compulsive self check quiz i think its called.   2.3% of the population of the U.S.A. has, it.  Its worth looking into, and definately worth getting under control if its affecting the quality of your life!!!!!  K TOO MUCH COMPUTER FOR KATIE TODAY!!  good luck and no worries.

[Doug]

Hypochondria is a real illness.  Someone who suffers from hypochondria is convinced they have serious illness despite tests, common sense, and reassurances from doctors.  Hypochondria is almost worse than having the feared disease itself.  TRUST ME, CT SCANS do not help because you will learn that they are not effective at detecting tumors of the digestive track.  Blood tests will not help because you will hear stories of people with normal counts whom were later diagnosed with various cancers...and so on and so on.  In other words, THERE IS NO TEST KNOWN TO MAN, NO DOCOTR ALIVE THAT CAN CONVINCE YOU THAT YOU ARE WELL, THE ONLY PERSON WHO CAN DO THIS IS...YOU.  I have suffered from hypochondria for years.  Hypochondria is a way to express mental pain through physical symptoms.  Usually there is an underlying reason for the problem (e.g. depression, obsessive compulsve, etc.).  One way of curing the hypochondria is discovering what the underlying issue is and fixing it(easier said than done).  Another tactic that helped me is to become extremely healthy.  I now obsess on my health in a different way, I eat perfect, i supplement,i train hard every day.  I run miles, I lift heavy weights and i wrestle competitively.  I always tell myself i am a powerful healthy elite athlete, my body is a highly efficient well tuned machine...viruses, infections, bacteria, cancer, and any other illness don't stand a fu**ing prayer in this machine...it seems to help. Good luck.  By the way you are to young to have colon cancer, plus your symptoms are symptoms of normal digestive function...although i am sure this won't convince you.

[jrd33]

Hehe, thanks Doug. No, I DO believe you. I'm not necessarily a hypochondriac, I just sometimes feel like one (but who knows!).

  My main concern just seems to be this:

    EVERY bowel movement lately has had blood/mucus.

  Can that be considered normal upset stomach, etc, too?

   (I don't have any stomach pain or anything, besides the occasional right under my right ribs, so that's why I'm unsure whether it would be an upset stomach.


Thanks again.

[Doug]

Blood and mucus in the stool is an indication that something is not right.  You should have this checked by your doctor.  Blood can come from many things such as hemroids, fissures, IBD, Crohn's, Colitis, etc. etc. etc. Mucus is common with many of these things as well, mucus is also a symptom of Irritable Bowel Syndrome...although blood is not.  The pain in your abdomen is most likely your colon at the  turn under your right ribs....although gallbladder and liver are there as well.  My guess is your blood is from hemroids, your pain and mucus from Irritable Bowel Syndrome.  My main point before was that you should not diagnose yourself, you need to see a doctor and tell him your symptoms.  If you are worried about colon cancer, than you are jumping the gun BIG TIME...you don't have that.  Your doctor will tell you the same.  Your Dr. will more importantly tell what you what is wrong and what you need to do to take care of it...setting your mind at ease.

[mr_drew]

Hi, everyone.   I'm Andrew..16, from the uk.  and recently my nan died from a sudden heart attack.  before that..i'd been suffering from anxiety..and i've learnt to control that..and i understand it.

but, now..i think i'm suffering from hypochondria.  i think i'm the one having a heart attack.  i get chest pain and think its happening..

i do these online questionnaires for hypo..and they all point to it.  

i was just wondering if anyone can help me at least try to overcome it..or just live with it.  i'm starting college soon and i don't want it to affect me so badly.  any help or comments would be so greatly appreciated..

please e-mail me at  ***@****   cos i'll never find this page again.

thanks so much,

Andrew.

[SeanJuan]

Hey there...

Im a bit late on this one...but I have had all the symptoms that you are going through JRD33...I am a 20 year old male, for the most part healthy, except that I have had slight discomfort in my stomach...normal stools that thin out at the end (very flattened and thin) and I have experienced blood and mucus...It is extremely scary..EXTREMELY! I worked my self up into such a fear that I couldn't even see straight for weeks. I would wake up in cold sweats, the whole nine yards, furthermore, I was scared to see what the doctor would tell me, so I put it off.
(May I add that, I too, am waay too worried about having cancer, I have worried about Leukemia, lung cancer, several other blood cancers, colon cancer, hell AIDS, everything...) But I am healthy.
Finally, I went to the doctor about my concerns. They felt I had nothing to worry about, but they scheduled a flexible sigmoidoscopy for me. The camera results, Hemroids. I don't see how it explains the mucus I still have...But since I have moved away from the notion that I have cancer, I have felt a great deal better. Anyhow, I am 20, just like you, and Im having the same problems as you...I want to start working on my diet...Im not overweight, but I eat a lot of ****, and I think that may add to it.
Hey if you ever want to EMail me, I'm Sean at ***@****
Drop me a line if you ever have any questions..

take care bro!